Social media users to hit 66 million in India by 2013: report

New Delhi: Social media users in urban India are estimated to reach 66 million by June 2013 due to the availability of affordable smartphones and consequent mobile Internet use, a report said.

“The number of social media users in urban India reached 62 million by December 2012 and it is estimated to reach 66 million by June 2013,” a report on social media in India by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and Indian Market Research Bureau (IMRB) said.

The report said about 74 percent of all active Internet users in urban India use social media. “The growth in the number of social networking users can be attributed to the rising Internet penetration in India, through increasing affordability of smartphones and consequent mobile Internet use,” the report said.

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As per the findings, of the 80 million active Internet users in Urban India, 72 percent (58 million individuals) have accessed some form of social networking.

“They may have accessed social media using a personal computer, laptop or even a mobile device, as the illustration suggests,” it added.

The report said social media usage ranks only after email (80 percent) in terms of usage. “Essentially, social networking often serves to be among the first Internet uses of Internet in India, besides the usual reasons like email, music and gaming,” it said.

Facebook is the most accessed website with 97 percent of all individuals using it followed by Google+ and LinkedIn.

However, LinkedIn has the highest proportion among women and users above 25 years. In fact, LinkedIn has the second highest average time spent only after Facebook.

“The average time spent by Indian netizens was 29.6 minutes on weekdays as compared to 28.8 minutes on weekend days,” the report added.